Charlie Parker: With Strings - The Master Takes

1 Just Friends - 3:30 2 Everything Happens to Me - 3:15 3 April in Paris - 3:06 4 Summertime - 2:46 5 I Didn't Know What Time It Was - 3:12 6 If I Should Lose You - 2:46 7 Dancing in the Dark - 3:10 8 Out of Nowhere - 3:06 9 Laura - 2:57 10 East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) - 3:37 11 They Can't Take That Away from Me - 3:17 12 Easy to Love - 3:29 13 I'm in the Mood for Love - 3:33 14 I'll Remember April - 3:02 15 What Is This Thing Called Love? [Live] - 2:55 16 April in Paris [Live] - 3:13 17 Repetition [Live] - 2:48 18 Easy to Love [Live] - 2:25 19 Rocker [Live] - 3:00 20 Temptation - 3:31 21 Lover - 3:06 22 Autumn in New York - 3:29 23 Stella by Starlight - 2:56 24 Repetition - 2:57

When producer Norman Granz decided to let Charlie Parker record standards with a full string section (featuring Mitch Miller on oboe!), the purists cried sellout, but nothing could be further from the truth. There's a real sense of involvement from Bird on these sides, which collect up all the master takes and also include some live tracks from Carnegie Hall that -- judging from the sometimes uneasy murmurings of the crowd -- amply illustrate just how weirdly this mixture of bop lines against "legit" arrangements was perceived. The music on this collection is lush, poetic, romantic as hell, and the perfect antidote to a surfeit of jazz records featuring undisciplined blowing. There's a lot of jazz, but there's only one Bird. ~ Cub Koda, Rovi

Price: $18.98